How to set up an online business? 10 ideas to start with no money

starting a business may seem like a daunting task but the amount of time money and risk involved depends on the business idea you have in mind there are plenty of ways to get that business off the ground that dont require as much upfront investment leaving you more time and energy to get more creative the main thing is to be accompanied by shopify with which you can start for free today you no longer have excuses to start your project try shopify for free to create your online store without credit card easy and intuitive email address email the fact that it requires a low investment does not have to be synonymous with an unprofitable project quite the contrary what i recommend you do not skimp on is develop a strong and recognized brand invest in digital marketing offer excellent customer service with the ideas that i will give you in this article you forget about initial inventories storage and physical space for a store here are some of them hit play 10 ideas on how to set up a business with no money or little investment dropshipping design and sell t-shirts publish your own book create digital products or courses sell personalized greeting cards create a charitable business sell a service create an online fashion boutique sell handicrafts create an audience you can monetize 1 dropshipping buy inventory store it pick it up pack it ship it inventory management can be a major commitment when youre running an online business dropshipping is a fulfillment model in which a third-party supplier stores inventory and ships the products to your customers you just need to make the sales and pass the orders to your supplier this way you avoid having to handle the products start or grow your business with a shopify expert in mexico we have an ecosystem of partners that can help you create your store grow your sales or migrate your business from another platform click on the link below and meet them you also have significant discounts an example of how to start you can select products from one or more vendors for your own online store with a theme focused on a specific niche such as gear for yoga enthusiasts or accessories for animals yoga businessphoto by cottonbro on pexels when a customer buys a product from you the order is sent to your supplier who prepares it for you however you are still responsible for your own marketing and customer service dropshipping is a low-investment method of testing products on the market and starting a business before investing in your own original products always ask for a sample of the product to verify that your supplier is trustworthy and that the quality is as expected 2 design and sell custom t-shirts with another print-on-demand dropshipping model inventory fulfillment and shipping is left to a third-party provider the creative approach here is given by you customizing these products with your own designs will make them more original t-shirts caps phone cases sweaters skirts handbags and many more products can become the beginning of a successful business you can come up with witty phrases for developers or references that are catchy for clients with cats if there is passion and pride within a community there is potential for a t-shirt business that you can exploit discover what are the 10 best online business ideas with which to start selling online today are you clear that you want to dedicate yourself to selling online but the idea that prompts you to launch into the online world has not yet come to you monetize your talent now with these 10 business ideas arent you a designer you can find one on sites like fiverr upwork dribble 99designs with many print-to-order services you pay per product so the base unit price will be higher than if you were to order in bulk this has a great advantage if a certain t-shirt design is a poor seller at least you didnt pay for the item only for the design if you outsourced it you can even use t-shirt templates so you dont need to spend money on a photo shoot for each new design you can work with a variety of print-to-order platforms many of which can be integrated with your shopify store for seamless order fulfillment here two shopify apps take center stage printful printify think pup source thinkpup shopify academy course build a custom print empire 3 publish your own book a book is just another type of product you can create it by investing your own time and without investing amounts of money the topics can be those that you are passionate about where you consider yourself a specialist and those areas where you help other people kitchen books with pictures comics poetry books novels and if you dont have enough budget to edit and print it you can consider crowdfunding actions for your book launching your own book can be an excellent way to monetize by creating a website for it where you explain what it is about and who your work can help some of these shopify apps could help you crowdfunding lulu xpress 4 create digital products or courses digital products like music courses and templates are a particular example on this list of ideas your profit margins can stay high since they are not tangible products but digital ones the secret is to discover which training is the best for you among all those that are in demand online training coursesphoto by vlada karpovich on pexels answers range from original instrumental beats to stock photos that can be licensed to other creators to products and information templates that help people improve their skills in a particular field if you have a talent that you can turn into a digital product you may want to consider marketing it and turning it into a new source of income shopify offers a free digital downloads app that allows you to offer your digital trainings in your store as easily as physical products pixifaire source pixie faire 5 sell personalized greeting cards if you have a great passion for all things artistic or know how to use your camera well you can dropship using the print-on-demand business model to sell part of your work greeting cards photo by jonathan borba on pexels make sure you have the broadcast rights to the content you want to print and that you can freely monetize it otherwise you must request it from the institutions or people who have their rights there are many platforms with digital templates and mockup generators like placeit which you can use to showcase your products without having to print each item and do your own photo shoots 10 business ideas source zen pencils 6 create a charitable business creating a nonprofit organization isnt the only path you can take to help make this world a better place having goals that go hand in hand with a business and setting aside a percentage of the profits for a charitable cause gives social entrepreneurs a unique way to position their business in the marketplace while helping to solve the problems that matter most to them the data speaks some studies reveal that 89 of consumers would switch to another brand with similar productsprices if it were associated with a good cause while many social businesses offer their own original products you can also take any of the business ideas outlined above and partner with a nonprofit organization or carry out that social work with your own hands as long as you are transparent about your procedures as part of your marketing you can share the impact your customers have by supporting your business such as a blog post describing your work in the community or a real-time impact calculator on your website the shopify give grow app makes it easy to partner with charitable organizations and how to incorporate your mission into your business you can set it up to donate a specific amount or percentage of your sales or ask your customers to make a donation at checkout the shopify give grow app lets you track and show your impact 7 sell a service with service-based businesses time is your inventory and your biggest investment because you have a limited number of hours in a day that makes it easier to get your business up and running if you have skills that are in demand writers designers developers photographers domestic workers fitness trainers among others can build a business based on their skills they can also expand their business with any of the other ideas outlined above to create additional revenue streams by productizing their services through physical or digital goods a photographer for example can work on a local event while selling prints online through their instagram account a copywriter can sell a portfolio of successful advertising writing combining your service-based business with physical products can provide you with another source of income that is not directly related to your time you can use the bookthatapp or book an appointment app to make it easy for customers to schedule a session inquire or buy tickets to one of your classes through your store book that app demo you can also offer your services through a freelance marketplace like upwork to increase your chances of being approached by people who need your skills the shopify book that app makes it easy for customers to book your services 8 create an online fashion store if you like fashion and sharing your sense of style online you may want to consider creating your own online fashion boutique you dont need to become a fashion designer you can simply select items from other suppliers and sell them in your own online store using the dropshipping model mentioned above from dresses shoes swimwear accessories and more you can create your own fashion brand using one of shopifys product search apps promote them in your own product photos and social media posts and gain an online following like trendsetter my online fashion my online fashion store allows you to import various styles to your shopify store the shopify apps that work best are usually my online fashion store modalyst 9 sell handicrafts do you like to create things by hand be it soaps candles sauces or ceramic items then you have a unique advantage to start an online business since the development and acquisition of products are in your hands you will need to consider inventory and shipping management but you can start small per order or with a small batch until you start to consistently generate sales many makers on shopify started selling from their homes through etsy or to friends and family they then went on to become full-time entrepreneurs after creating demand for their products just keep in mind the regulations applicable in your country to your product category especially in the case of any products that customers might eat inhale or apply to their skin brooklyn candle studio brooklyn candle studio is one of many craft businesses on shopify that started on etsy 10 create an audience that you can monetize in various ways in todays interconnected world the ability to capture and hold the attention of others is a valuable skill and many businesses are even willing to pay for this service and many manufacturers can turn it into a multi-income business whether you decide to grow your following on youtube instagram or with a blog ideally a combination of different channels you have many ways to monetize your audience make posts sponsored by other brands become an affiliate sell physical or digital products with any of the ideas on this list patreon a combination of the above they are not exclusive taking a crowd-centric approach to starting a business means youre investing for the long term it can take months to achieve the success you expect but you dont need more followers to do it